Guatemalan general election, 2007

A general election was held in Guatemala in two rounds on 9 September and 4 November 2007. Voters went to the polls to elect a new President and Vice President of the Republic, 158 congressional deputies, and 332 mayors.

Results

A total of fifteen parties contested the election, though one of them (the Front for Democracy) did not field a candidate for the presidential election.

Presidential election

Around 60% of the voting public participated in the 9 September first-round vote. However, no candidate secured more than 50% of the vote, and so a run-off election was held between Álvaro Colom of the National Unity of Hope (UNE) and former Army General Otto Pérez Molina of the Patriotic Party (PP) on 4 November 2007. [ [http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/14718 Colom Far Ahead of Rivals in Guatemala] Angus Reid Global Monitor, 13 February 2007] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6986834.stm Guatemala heads for run-off vote] BBC News, 10 September 2007]

The ruling Grand National Alliance (GANA), after placing third in the first-round vote, declined to endorse either Colom or Pérez Molina for the second round. [ [http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={EF1E4EE3-1117-4BEE-AABF-B412A09AF3CF}&language=EN GANA Party Stays Neutral] Prensa Latina, 13 September 2007]

With 97.23% of the vote counted in the second round, Colom was declared the winner with just over 52 percent.

Congressional election

The National Unity of Hope (UNE) made huge gains in the election, receiving 27.08%, nearly 10 percentage points more than November 2003. The Patriotic Party (PP), which ran independent of the Grand National Alliance (GANA), received 24.97% of the vote. GANA itself received 18.28% of the vote. [ [http://www.eleccionesguatemala.com/2007/09/10/une-se-coloca-arriba-pp-baja/ UNE se coloca arriba PP baja] Elecciones Guatemala, 10 September 2007 es icon]

Presidential and vice-presidential candidates

A full list appears on [http://elecciones2007.tse.org.gt/partidospoliticos/pdf/Presidente%20y%20Vicepresidente.pdf the Electoral Court's website] .

*Óscar Castañeda (VP: Roger Valenzuela) for the National Advancement Party (PAN)
*Vinicio Cerezo Blandón (VP: Pablo Ramírez Rivas) for Guatemalan Christian Democracy (DCG). Cerezo Blandón is the son of Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo, who served as president from 1986 to 1991.
*Álvaro Colom (VP: José Rafael Espada) for the National Unity of Hope (UNE). Colom was the runner-up in the 2003 presidential election.
*Manuel Conde Orellana (VP: Juan Francisco Manrique) for the Democratic Union (UD)
*Mario Estrada (VP: Mario Torres Marroquín) for the Nationalist Change Union (UCN).
*Fritz García-Gallont (VP: Enrique Godoy García Granados) for the Unionist Party (PU).
*Alejandro Giammattei (VP: Alfredo Vila Girón) for the Grand National Alliance (GANA). Giammattei served as director of the national prison service under GANA president Óscar Berger.
*Pablo Monsanto (VP: Mariano Portillo Lemus) for the New Nation Alliance (ANN).
*Rigoberta Menchú (VP: Luis Fernando Montenegro) for the Encounter for Guatemala (EG) party. Menchú is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate of the K'iche' Maya people. Press reports in late August reported that she had withdrawn from the race because of financial constraints and low levels of support; [ [http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6248535.html Guatemala Nobel Prize winner Menchu halts presidential campaign] "People's Daily", 27 August 2007] these reports were false. [ [http://canalmenchu.blogspot.com/2007/08/mench-no-ha-cerrado-campaa-por-falta-de.html Menchú NO ha cerrado campaña por falta de recursos] ]
*Otto Pérez Molina (VP: Ricardo Castillo Sinibaldi) for the Patriotic Party. Pérez Molina is a retired army general who was active in the Civil War.
*Luis Rabbé (VP: Haroldo Quej Chen) for the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG)
*Héctor Rosales (VP: Carlos Pérez Rodríguez) for Authentic Integral Development (DIA).
*Miguel Ángel Sandoval (VP: Walda Barrios Ruiz) for Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity–MAIZE (URNG–MAIZ).
*Eduardo Suger (VP: Erwin Lobos Ríos) for the Social Action Centre (CASA).

Polls

Results

Presidential election

Presidential results by department (2nd round)

Parliamentary election

References

External links

* [http://www.eleccionesguatemala.com/ Elecciones Guatemala] es icon